A government budget is basically an estimate of a country’s expenditures and incomes. It is passed by the legislature and agreed by the head of the nation.

Best practices say that a budget should always be prepared with care keeping it in a surplus (revenues>expenditure).

2011 saw countries recovering after the slump that started in 2008. Many countries were able to achieve a surplus budget thanks to their faith and commitment.

Mentioned below are ten best budgets of 2011. The list is compared seeing if the budget was in surplus or deficit.

1. Norway

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: 12.5

Norway retains the Numero-Uno position for the fact that its budget is always prepared with care. The country always rises up to the occasion balancing its budget well.

2. Hungary

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: 4

Hungary enters the chart at number two as one of the strongest economies after the recession phase. Country’s growth is tremendous mainly due to the efforts to concentrate on development.

3. South Korea

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: 0.8

South Korea continues to dominate the region. A huge portion of its 2011 budget went to research, education and defense.

4. Switzerland

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: 0.8
Switzerland recorded a Government Budget surplus equal to 0.40 percent of the country’s GDP in 2011, making it one of the strongest economies in Europe.

5. Estonia

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: 0.1

Estonia stands in the middle of the list at 0.1%. The country’s public debt totaled 6%, which is lowest in years.

6. Sweden

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: 0.1

Sweden continues to grow after the recent slump with the country managing a positive budget after a small gap.

7. Germany

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -1.2

Germany had the fourth highest budget in 2011 with 37,000 million USD deficits. Country’s exports saw a fall that made the country rethink its strategies and it came up with a strong budget for 2011 that is aimed towards making Germany strong once again.

8. Luxembourg

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -1.2

The country has announced its aim to return to a balanced budget by 2014. Its 2011 budget was also prepared keeping the future plans in mind. The country reduced costs on unnecessary expenditures so that it can continue to thrive and have a surplus budget.

9. Finland

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -2

The country continued to have the same scenario as in 2010 recording the same numbers. However, a look at 2011 shows how the country is improving, and planning to get a better hold on its revenues and expenditures by 2012. The budget was aimed towards improving the import/export situation and providing more facilities to the people.

10. Australia

General Government Deficit or Surplus as % of GDP: -3.3

Closing the chart is Australia with its budget that was purely transparent and aimed towards providing benefits to the people.